At Grantham University, we believe in going the extra mile to help you prepare for a successful job search. Recently, two of our Career Services experts met with Dr. David Marker, Dean of the Mark Skousen School of Business, to discuss a number of issues—from the industries that need degreed business professionals to what’s happening […]

At Grantham University, we believe in going the extra mile to help you prepare for a successful job hunt. Recently, two of our Career Services experts were joined by Grantham’s Dean of the Mark Skousen School of Business, Dr. David Marker, to discuss the history of the study of business and how a business degree […]

At Grantham University, we believe in going the extra mile to help you prepare for a successful job hunt. Recently, our Career Services team met with Dr. David Marker, Dean of the Mark Skousen School of Business to gain insight into why pursuing a degree in business is a smart career move and how it […]

Grantham University wants you to be successful, and with the help of Grantham’s Career Launch you will be armed with the tools you need to have a successful transition beyond service. Picking up where we left off with Thinking Beyond MOS: How to Translate Military Experience into a Civilian Career, here are some of the […]

Grantham University wants you to be successful, and with the help of Grantham’s Career Launch you will be armed with the tools you need to have a successful transition beyond service.

Picking up where we left off with Thinking Beyond MOS: How to Translate Military Experience into a Civilian Career, here are some of the highlights of the second installment of our podcast on translating military experience and training for civilian resumes that will get noticed.

Selling, Not Telling

As you consider the next rung on your career ladder—transitioning out of the military and into the civilian workforce—you will need to make some adjustments in how you describe your work experience to potential recruiters through your resume. In other words: Don’t tell. Sell.

“Sell it, don’t just tell it,” says Doug Dimler, Grantham University Career Services coordinator. “It’s really transitioning from what you did in the military to the civilian talk.”

As your military mind reflects on the work you did in service, you’re likely to come up with work history bullets for your resume like: “Manage personnel and equipment during six-month overseas deployment.”

According to Dimler, that’s accurate, but inexact.

“What you really did,” he says, “was direct a team of 45 electricians or mechanics to maintain more than $30,000,000 in equipment while maintaining 100% inventory accuracy. When you talk to a hiring manager or recruiter and they see that on your resume, you’re going to stand out.”

The truth is, not many civilians can back those kinds of numbers up. When you get a chance to speak to them on your resume, you should.

“You’re telling a story with your work experience to a recruiter,” says Jeremy Bell, Grantham University Associate Director of Talent Development and Career Services, “and painting a real broad picture of what your responsibilities were.”

Bell offers another example in this- to him – all-to-familiar interview scenario:

Interviewer asks: “Tell me what you did in your last job.”

Candidate says: “Well, I drove a truck.”

That doesn’t cut it.

“What you’re not saying,” says Bell, “is that not only did I drive a truck, I managed a team of 30 with responsibilities for millions of dollars’ worth of equipment and no room for error.”

Raylein Jones, Grantham University Career Services coordinator, adds: “These items need to be measurable. Managed personnel, yeah, that’s impressive, but when you’ve managed 45 employees … that really solidifies that experience that you’ve had.”

Maybe you haven’t directed 45 people, it could be five. And you may not have been responsible for equipment valued up to $30 million. Maybe it was $500,000. Either way, you’re still offering a concrete, real-value example. You’re quantifying your experience. You know those things. You’re describing your benefits. You’re stating the how and why, and then you’re including results and details.

Another thing: Use action words.

“You don’t want to just say ‘Did This,’” says Jones. “You want to use a verb that describes what you have done in a way that makes you look good and is results oriented. That’s what companies want. They want to know how you’ll save them time and how you’ll save them money.”

Speak the Language of the Opportunity

“Keywords … we hear this a lot when it comes to resumes,” says Bell. “Especially when it comes to applying for certain positions and speaking to the language of the opportunities.”

One of the first places to start looking for that language is, of course, in the job description. As you look through the job description and identify skills you have in your toolbox that match the requirements, you’re also finding keywords you need to implement in your resume.

“When you look over a job description,” says Jones, “you’ll see different sections: Core responsibilities, qualifications. Circle or highlight or make a list of all the things you have done before from that job description and insert them into various points within your resume. This includes y

Military Resumes vs Civilian: What’s the Difference?

As you served our country, you put in some work. Hard work. But it doesn’t always translate well to the civilian world. Now that you’re thinking about your next MOS—i.e. joining the civilian workforce—how do you make sure the work you’ve done in service to our country is adequately reflected in the civilian resume you put together.

At Grantham University, we have a few ideas.

“The purpose of a resume,” says Raylein Jones, Grantham University Career Services Coordinator, “is to get an interview. A lot of our military folks have an issue condensing their federal resume to a civilian one.”

Doug Dimler, Grantham University Career Services Coordinator, agrees. You need to make sure your resume has everything you need, but isn’t filled with all the things, the pages and pages of things, you would normally put on a military resume.

“Make it short, succinct, to the point,” says Dimler.

What Recruiter’s Want

Look at it from the recruiter’s side of things. They may see 30, 50, 100, 200 or more resumes per job posting. They have mastered the art of scanning resumes at very fast speeds. There are seriously looking for a resume that stands out from the crowd.

“They know what they’re looking for,” says Dimler. “They want it to be consistent, so use clear, defined headings and sub-headings. Put in some white space so they can easily jump from one section to the other.”

“Remember, they may get hundreds or thousands of resumes for a handful of positions,” says Jeremy Bell, Grantham University Associate Director of Talent Development and Career Services. “They scan them quickly. We hear anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds is going to be the amount of time they’ll take scanning through your resume, so you want to make sure key information is easy to find and easy to read.”

Relevance is also high on the list of things that get noticed on resumes, according to Bell.

“We see this a lot on resume first drafts from our military graduates: Job descriptions really tend to be a list of duties and responsibilities. ‘I was responsible for this. I was responsible for that.’ What recruiters are really wanting to see is how you can highlight those skills as they relate to their upcoming opportunities.”

Before Your Put Pen to Paper

The first thing you want to do when you start developing your civilian resume is think about what your career goals and interests are. What kind of positions are you looking to apply for as you transition? That is going to take a little bit of self-assessment, a little more thinking about your overall objective. For some, that’s pretty easy to determine. Others need a little help.

“One of the things we offer here at Grantham through Career Services,” says Bell, “is the opportunity to talk to our Career Services coordinators to really get a better idea of what that will look like. We offer assessments, like our predictive index assessment, to help get an idea of what their career goals are.”

“Exploring who you are,” says Dimler, “it’s best to talk with somebody about that. They can pull out some key things that might be very important to some type of civilian position, so always try to use the resources around you.”

Then, you need to examine your goals in light of what you’ve accomplished within the history of your military service or any other work experience that you’ve done that can help you attain that position.

“What kind of experience have you had up to this point that’s going to make you more marketable?” asks Bell. “Think about what you’ve done in the military during your career. What titles have you had? What duties have you been responsible for? What tasks have you accomplished, and try to relate those to your overall career target? That’s really going to be what makes a difference between getting an interview and not getting an interview.”

Online Skills Translators

“I think a really big part of the resume as you’re transitioning is knowing where you want to go,” says Jones,

Military Resumes vs Civilian: What’s the Difference?

As you served our country, you put in some work. Hard work. But it doesn’t always translate well to the civilian world. Now that you’re thinking about your next MOS—i.e. joining the civilian workforce—how do you make sure the work you’ve done in service to our country is adequately reflected in the civilian resume you put together.

At Grantham University, we have a few ideas.

“The purpose of a resume,” says Raylein Jones, Grantham University Career Services Coordinator, “is to get an interview. A lot of our military folks have an issue condensing their federal resume to a civilian one.”

Doug Dimler, Grantham University Career Services Coordinator, agrees. You need to make sure your resume has everything you need, but isn’t filled with all the things, the pages and pages of things, you would normally put on a military resume.

“Make it short, succinct, to the point,” says Dimler.

What Recruiter’s Want

Look at it from the recruiter’s side of things. They may see 30, 50, 100, 200 or more resumes per job posting. They have mastered the art of scanning resumes at very fast speeds. There are seriously looking for a resume that stands out from the crowd.

“They know what they’re looking for,” says Dimler. “They want it to be consistent, so use clear, defined headings and sub-headings. Put in some white space so they can easily jump from one section to the other.”

“Remember, they may get hundreds or thousands of resumes for a handful of positions,” says Jeremy Bell, Grantham University Associate Director of Talent Development and Career Services. “They scan them quickly. We hear anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds is going to be the amount of time they’ll take scanning through your resume, so you want to make sure key information is easy to find and easy to read.”

Relevance is also high on the list of things that get noticed on resumes, according to Bell.

“We see this a lot on resume first drafts from our military graduates: Job descriptions really tend to be a list of duties and responsibilities. ‘I was responsible for this. I was responsible for that.’ What recruiters are really wanting to see is how you can highlight those skills as they relate to their upcoming opportunities.”

Before Your Put Pen to Paper

The first thing you want to do when you start developing your civilian resume is think about what your career goals and interests are. What kind of positions are you looking to apply for as you transition? That is going to take a little bit of self-assessment, a little more thinking about your overall objective. For some, that’s pretty easy to determine. Others need a little help.

“One of the things we offer here at Grantham through Career Services,” says Bell, “is the opportunity to talk to our Career Services coordinators to really get a better idea of what that will look like. We offer assessments, like our predictive index assessment, to help get an idea of what their career goals are.”

“Exploring who you are,” says Dimler, “it’s best to talk with somebody about that. They can pull out some key things that might be very important to some type of civilian position, so always try to use the resources around you.”

Then, you need to examine your goals in light of what you’ve accomplished within the history of your military service or any other work experience that you’ve done that can help you attain that position.

“What kind of experience have you had up to this point that’s going to make you more marketable?” asks Bell. “Think about what you’ve done in the military during your career. What titles have you had? What duties have you been responsible for? What tasks have you accomplished, and try to relate those to your overall career target? That’s really going to be what makes a difference between getting an interview and not getting an interview.”

Online Skills Translators

“I think a really big part of the resume as you’re transitioning is knowing where you want to go,” says Jones,

At Grantham University, we believe your education doesn’t have to stop with your degree. That’s why we offer online helps for the job-hunting process—from interview prep to putting together the perfect resume. Recently, three of Grantham University’s Career Launch experts got together for a series of podcasts about helping students and graduates reach their career goals.

Here are some of the highlights of today’s podcast covering soft and hard skills, what to include on your resume and other tips for the career hunt:

Soft Skills—Part of Your Character or Learned Behavior

While they can be hard to learn, soft skills can be developed through relationships and experience. The ability to stay organized, communicate effectively and be approachable, and to work efficiently on your own or as part of a team are essential soft skills in and out of the workplace.

“Employers want staff who fit in with the company culture,” says Bell. “They want people who can work in a team environment and espouse a culture of service.”

“They’re not just essential in job interviews,” says Bell, “they’re needed throughout your career. If you say you’re organized or have an attention to detail, but your resume is disorganized or has a mistake, well, that’s a red flag.”

On the other hand, you can’t get far in your job hunt without the actual learned hard skills an education can give you.

Hard skills, technical abilities, on-the-job training, coursework, a foreign language, bilingual capabilities, programming, computer skills, degrees—anything that’s learned are the hard skills. Those are the things in the requirements. Those are what is required to do a job.

“All the hard skills you can possibly get,” says Dimler, “They’re still important, especially in technical fields.”

Bottom line: You need a good mix of both soft and hard skills. Identify hard skills as soon as possible in a resume or a cover letter. Then define how you accomplish personal, team and company goals through soft skills like team work, attitude and persistence.

How to Help Your Resume Get Noticed for the Right Reasons

Too many people self-sabotage their chances in the career hunt with a poorly organized or written resume. You have a limited amount of time (and resume space) to make a good impression on a future employer—don’t waste either.

The prospective employer defines the job in the posting. Use the job-specific skills that is on the posting in your resume or cover letter. Only list applicable skills. Relevant information to their business on your resume is what they want. Employees at the company are also a good resource for understanding what an employer is looking for, according to Dimler.

“Do your homework. Go on LinkedIn. Find out what the employees at that employer say in their description. It will tell you a lot about how the employer defines itself, what it values.”

Keep fluff out of your resume. “Hobbies,” says Bell, “photography, archery—they may be an icebreaker in an interview but leave it off your resume.”

Also, according to Bell, outdated coding, putting in Microsoft Office skills, or words-per-minute typing skills—these are all assumed in the professional environment.

Last of all, make sure they know you early in your cover letter that you fulfill the qualifications. Bell adds: “Tell them I am the man or woman for this job!”

Now that you’ve had a taste, take 15 minutes out of your day to listen in as Bell, Dimler and McAuley offer their professional insights in this podcast.

At Grantham University, we believe your education doesn’t have to stop with your degree. That’s why we offer online helps for the job-hunting process—from interview prep to putting together the perfect resume. Recently, three of Grantham University’s Career Launch experts got together for a series of podcasts over helping students and graduates reach their career goals.

Here are some of the highlights of today’s podcast covering soft and hard skills, what to include on your resume and other tips for

At Grantham University, we believe your education doesn’t have to stop with your degree. That’s why we offer online helps for the job-hunting process—from interview prep to putting together the perfect resume. Recently, three of Grantham University’s Career Launch experts got together for a series of podcasts about helping students and graduates reach their career […]

At Grantham University, we believe your education doesn’t have to stop with your degree. That’s why we offer online helps for the job-hunting process—from interview prep to putting together the perfect resume. Recently, three of Grantham University’s Career Launch experts got together for a series of podcasts about helping students and graduates reach their career goals.

Here are some of the highlights of today’s podcast covering soft and hard skills, what to include on your resume and other tips for the career hunt:

Soft Skills—Part of Your Character or Learned Behavior

While they can be hard to learn, soft skills can be developed through relationships and experience. The ability to stay organized, communicate effectively and be approachable, and to work efficiently on your own or as part of a team are essential soft skills in and out of the workplace.

“Employers want staff who fit in with the company culture,” says Bell. “They want people who can work in a team environment and espouse a culture of service.”

“They’re not just essential in job interviews,” says Bell, “they’re needed throughout your career. If you say you’re organized or have an attention to detail, but your resume is disorganized or has a mistake, well, that’s a red flag.”

On the other hand, you can’t get far in your job hunt without the actual learned hard skills an education can give you.

Hard skills, technical abilities, on-the-job training, coursework, a foreign language, bilingual capabilities, programming, computer skills, degrees—anything that’s learned are the hard skills. Those are the things in the requirements. Those are what is required to do a job.

“All the hard skills you can possibly get,” says Dimler, “They’re still important, especially in technical fields.”

Bottom line: You need a good mix of both soft and hard skills. Identify hard skills as soon as possible in a resume or a cover letter. Then define how you accomplish personal, team and company goals through soft skills like team work, attitude and persistence.

How to Help Your Resume Get Noticed for the Right Reasons

Too many people self-sabotage their chances in the career hunt with a poorly organized or written resume. You have a limited amount of time (and resume space) to make a good impression on a future employer—don’t waste either.

The prospective employer defines the job in the posting. Use the job-specific skills that is on the posting in your resume or cover letter. Only list applicable skills. Relevant information to their business on your resume is what they want. Employees at the company are also a good resource for understanding what an employer is looking for, according to Dimler.

“Do your homework. Go on LinkedIn. Find out what the employees at that employer say in their description. It will tell you a lot about how the employer defines itself, what it values.”

Keep fluff out of your resume. “Hobbies,” says Bell, “photography, archery—they may be an icebreaker in an interview but leave it off your resume.”

Also, according to Bell, outdated coding, putting in Microsoft Office skills, or words-per-minute typing skills—these are all assumed in the professional environment.

Last of all, make sure they know you early in your cover letter that you fulfill the qualifications. Bell adds: “Tell them I am the man or woman for this job!”

Now that you’ve had a taste, take 15 minutes out of your day to listen in as Bell, Dimler and McAuley offer their professional insights in this podcast.

At Grantham University, we believe your education doesn’t have to stop with your degree. That’s why we offer online helps for the job-hunting process—from interview prep to putting together the perfect resume. Recently, three of Grantham University’s Career Launch experts got together for a series of podcasts over helping students and graduates reach their career goals.

Here are some of the highlights of today’s podcast covering soft and hard skills, what to include on your resume and other tips for